Newcomer

Newcomer

Hi ,
I will say it's the best choice since it's the only American/international school in Buenos Aires. Their teachers have been trained abroad. You could perhaps arrange to talk to a counsellor and visit the school. They follow the American calendar. They offer many services and activities. Check their website www.lincoln.edu.ar/
good luck!

Newcomer

Why Lincoln? Just because it follows the American system? Why not consider a bilingual school such as Saint Andrews? There your child will get a more academic education, will be integrated into the local society/culture and will be forced to learn some Spanish (Saint Andrews teaches in both English and Spanish, incidentally).

Registered

La Nacion had a pull out section on all the schools in Buenos Aires -- perhaps they still have some of the info on their website -- www.lanacion.com.ar.
I'm not a parent so can't provide you with a tonne of insight, but I met a Canadian couple who both teach at Lincoln and they both had Masters Degrees from very good schools at home, which makes me think that the staff standards are quite high.
I also think that Lincoln works towards the SATs and American university admissions which may be of benefit if that is where your child is eventually thinking to end up.

Newcomer

That's probably true about SATs. Schools like Saint Andrews are more geared to the British system however the overall education is likely to be more academic at SA. Lincoln is also known to be outrageously expensive.

Registered

That's probably true about SATs. Schools like Saint Andrews are more geared to the British system however the overall education is likely to be more academic at SA. Lincoln is also known to be outrageously expensive.

Right you are. The British system is simply more rigorous. I would only advocate an American school if the youngster in question had been continuously attending American schools; making transitions from one system to another is time-consuming and can often end in failure.
If you take a look at the Lincoln school website, you can see it's no academic hothouse. US schools very rarely are.

Registered

Just because a school has a nice website doesn't mean they have a better education -- judge them by the quality of teachers; diversity of facilities; and if your child is nearing university, their SAT scores or AP courses (for American families) and university admissions success rates. Lincoln seems to have an incredible diversity of programmes, and I'm sure the same is true for any of the top private schools here.
And although these schools are expensive by Argentine standards, they aren't anymore expensive then private schools back in North America.
I think the important thing is for the mother and daughter to find a place that makes them both happy! After all, the mother will be more concerned about the educational standards while a 14 year old will be more concerned about the kids there, the facilities etc

Registered

US education is just one sorry joke. I'm a licenced teacher myself, who's had the misfortune to teach in US schools and so perhaps I can comment on this. I've so little faith in the system I homeschooled my boy for five years (he's now at the University of Minnesota). Both the curricula and the books in US schools are "dumbed down." There are a plethora of critical analyses that have examined the plight of American schools and undergrad programs, but it would take me too far afield to discuss them.
If a parent has a choice, he or she should go for something else. If not the British, maybe the Argentinian: even that has to be substantially better -- a priori -- than that of the US.
A recent article:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/24/AR2005122400701.html

Newcomer

Not all schools in the US are bad any more than all schools in the UK are good. In fact, the UK is experiencing some of the same problems as the US, especially in the inner city schools. A shortage of teachers has actually caused the British state schools to recruit teachers in the US. There is truth, though, that there has been a dumbing down in the US. Still some of the suburban schools are very good in the US and the better private schools are outstanding.

Lincoln is technically a private school but it operates as though it were a public school. The teachers are mostly drawn from public schools as are the administrators. In speaking to students and parents associated with the school I've got the the distinct impression that the school does not have a private school academic atmosphere or the ethos of a private school. It serves a wealthy expat community who normally send their kids to suburban public schools.

The quality of Lincoln can be debated but my original point was that it might be better to send the child to a bilingual school like Saint Andrews where he or she would be better integrated into the society and would be compelled to learn Spanish.

Registered

Not all schools in the US are bad any more than all schools in the UK are good. In fact, the UK is experiencing some of the same problems as the US, especially in the inner city schools. A shortage of teachers has actually caused the British state schools to recruit teachers in the US. There is truth, though, that there has been a dumbing down in the US. Still some of the suburban schools are very good in the US and the better private schools are outstanding.

Inner city schools in Britain are suffering the same problems as their counterparts in the US, i.e. too many non-whites, and the student population itself drawn from the most economically deprived and unruly elements of society. A teacher works as an animal tamer in such places, hence the low morale and high turnover.
As for some US schools being "good," I suppose it depends on the yardstick. There are elite US schools such as the Stuyvesant High School, Brooklyn College, and the Bronx High School of Science in the public sector, and many schools in the private sector, that turn out students with half a dozen APs and SATs in the 1400s and 1500s. But these stand out only in the context of truly abysmal standards in US education as a whole. There's a fine book out by John Taylor Gatto titled, "The Underground History of American Education," which is accessible online:http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/chapters/index.htm

Lincoln is technically a private school but it operates as though it were a public school. The teachers are mostly drawn from public schools as are the administrators. In speaking to students and parents associated with the school I've got the the distinct impression that the school does not have a private school academic atmosphere or the ethos of a private school. It serves a wealthy expat community who normally send their kids to suburban public schools.

Sure. My brothers and I attended such schools ourselves (about 30 years ago). They serve the offspring of diplomats, military personnel, and mid-ranking corporate executives, i.e. the very people who would send their children to suburban public schools in the United States.
I'm digressing as usual from the original question that started the thread.